Abkhazia will not hold a referendum on accession to Russia

Abkhazia will not hold a referendum on joining Russia following the example of South Ossetia. This was in an interview in an interview with RIA "Novosti" said the Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Republic Arthur Mikvabia.

Commenting on a referendum in South Ossetia on joining Russia, Mikavbia said that "Abkhazia is a different story."

“The motives of Tskhinval are understandable. Ossetians are a divided people, part now lives in Russia, part in South Ossetia. Therefore, we have a desire to reunite. We have a different situation. We want to be an independent state and at the same time a reliable and faithful ally of Russia. We have earned our independence, gave thousands of lives of the best sons and daughters for it,” the Abkhazian prime minister said.

A referendum on joining Russia will be held in South Ossetia in 2017. On May 26, the corresponding statement was signed by the President of the Republic Leonid Tibilov and the speaker of the parliament Anatoly Bibilov.

The document notes that its initiators were guided by the "long-term interests of the South Ossetian people" and "the desire to ensure the stability of the socio-political situation in the republic."

Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which were previously part of Georgia, proclaimed independence after the armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia, South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Russia. The sovereignty of both republics was recognized by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Nauru.